Being Freed
by BeautifulTendencies
Summary: It is driving him crazy. He has loved Laxus for years, would follow him to hell and out again, but he knows that Laxus doesn't love him. Not in the way he wants him to. It is just not good for him, so he decides to leave. But the Raijinshuu are unwilling to let their friend go. HIATUS (someone else can take it up, just comment).
1. Chapter 1

_Author Note: So this is my first fan fiction. Ever. And although I do appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, hate comments will be removed. I am definitely not unwilling to edit this chapter if you give me feedback. The story seems kind of choppy to me, and if you can point out ways to make it flow better, well, that would be awesome. Also, I'm not entirely sure if I really stayed true to different character's personalities (should Ever be whinier? Should Bixlow be less collected?). Anyways, hope you enjoy reading this!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own squat. And I'm not making money off this either._

**Normal POV:**

Freed walked away from the Guild Hall, guilty. He felt bad for leaving like this, without informing Laxus, but Laxus would only try to stop him. And he didn't want to be stopped. He really didn't. Maybe he did. Just a little. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, there was always going to be a part of him that wanted to be with Laxus, even if he couldn't be _with _Laxus.

His years of tireless devotion had finally caught up with him. He was _tired _of being rejected, _tired _of working for his thunder god, _tired _of his life as it was. For the first time in years, the lightning shaped spikes he had faithfully put his hair up in, every morning, as tribute to his leader, were missing from his head.

The bonds of Raijinshuu were already beginning to strain, from their leader having left them, even though he had now returned. And Ever was actually falling in love, no matter how she denied it. Laxus didn't even need them to be his body guards anymore, he was powerful enough on his own. They were all beginning to drift away from each other.

Freed had tried to get himself to hate Laxus. To feel anything for him besides the overwhelming love that had been and always would be unrequited. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to hate Laxus, or feel anything else for him. It was killing him, and he finally couldn't take it anymore. So he had decided to force himself to move on, by moving away. Seeing Laxus before he left would only make that harder.

The master had removed his guild mark, he had left his goodbye letters to Ever and Bixlow (he had tried to write one for Laxus, he really had, but he had no idea what to say and everything he tried just ended up sounding stupid), everything had been arranged. He had spoken to Sting, the new Sabertooth master already, and only needed to receive his guild mark to officially be in the guild. He had even moved into a new apartment, one closer to Sabertooth.

No one from Fairy Tail knew that he was leaving yet, besides the guild master. He had explained it to him in private, tearing up at moments. The master, no, Makarov, now that his guild mark had been removed, had understood. He had only wanted to know if leaving Laxus was worth leaving the rest of his family.

It wasn't set in stone, what he would do after he left Fairy Tail and joined Sabertooth. He thought that he would lay low for a little bit, and maybe come back to Fairy Tail once his head had cleared. He would, of course, visit Bixlow and Ever. One of the reasons he had chosen Sabertooth was it's nearness to his old guild. It was in the same city, so he would be able to visit as often as he wanted to. He wondered if he would ever visit Laxus, then quickly shook the thought off. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. Instead, for the millionth time, he tried to picture Laxus finding out he had left. Would he ask idly where Freed was, and have Ever or Bixlow break the news? When they found his letters, would they rush off and tell him? Would Makarov call him into his office and tell him? How would Laxus react? Indifferent? Betrayed? Angry? Or, dare he think it, upset? No, he decided, Laxus definitely wouldn't be _that _upset. He had made it quite clear how he felt about Freed, time and time again, had rejected all his advances consistently, never once showing doubt. He would probably be glad to get rid of Freed.

As these thoughts spun in his head, his feet took him ever closer through the bustling, colorful and loud city to his new guild hall, his new family, his new master.

Too soon, he arrived in front of the castle-like building that served as the Sabertooth guild hall. Freed took a deep breath, hand resting on the hilt of the sword he wore on his belt (he had gotten a new one, as the Fairy Tail symbol on the old one it was no longer appropriate), and rocked on the balls of his feet once. His anxiety somewhat settled, he put on the stone-still expressionless mask he always wore when he wanted to hide weakness, checked his posture (a habit he had yet to break, despite having spent years away from his father), and walked purposefully into the guild hall.

The main entrance looked fairly formal, and was at odds with the obvious new additions. Before Sting had become the master, he knew that this room had had no furniture other than a throne in the middle of the room. Now, it was pushed against the center of the back wall, out of the way, while tables and a job board now dominated the room, and it looked like a bar and kitchen were in the process of being added.

Sting sat at a table with Rouge, Lector, and Froche. As Freed watched, he took a sip from his mug and spit it right back out again as he burst out laughing at something Lector said. When he was wiping his mouth against his sleeve, he saw Freed standing stoically by the open door.

"Freed!" He called, motioning him over before telling Rouge to get the stamp.

He walked briskly over to the table as the stamp was placed in Sting's hand.

"Where do you want it?" Sting asked.

Freed looked down at the back of his newly blank right hand, and held it out. "Here should be fine." He didn't want to see that hand blank, be reminded of the family he had given up. Instead, it would be marked with the symbol of his new family, with his future. "Green."

"Sure," Sting said as he pressed the stamp down. "Now you're one of us!"

"Thanks."

Freed walked up to the request board and studied it. It would be his first solo job in a long while, and he wanted something easier, as he would have to get used to not having anyone to watch his back, and not having to watch someone else's.

He looked for only a little while longer before picking a page off it. The flyer read:

**Help Wanted:**

**Thieves in Onibus**

**Reward for Capture; 21,000 Jewels**

**For more details, see the Mayor.**

Onibus was only one city away, and he could ride the train to get there. With luck, it would only take one to three days, and the reward was well over what he needed to make rent this month.

He looked around, unsure of who to go to to get the job.

"If my memory is correct, I remember seeing you in the stands for Fairy Tail at the Grand Magic Games." A smooth voice said.

He turned to look at the speaker. "Rufus Lore, The Minstrel Who Sings to the Red Moon. Competitor in the Grand Magic Games for Sabertooth, using memory-make magic."

"You seem to know a lot about me," the masked blonde stated.

"Anyone who watched the games would know that much," Freed said with a small smile. "Freed Justine, rune mage. Former member of Fairy Tail. I left."

"Memorized. Welcome to the guild, Freed Justine."

"Thank you, Minstrel. If you wouldn't mind, who do I tell when I take a job?"

"Remember that you have to talk to Eloise, the girl with blue hair, over there." He pointed to a youngish girl waiting tables.

"Hey Rufus!" A large, bulky man with a mane of green hair called out from the other side of the guild hall. "Come over here! Minerva just lost a bet and I want someone to remember this!"

"I guess I will see you around, rune mage." The large plume in his hat swung when he turned, starting to make his way towards the god-slayer.

"For sure." Freed responded to his retreating back before starting toward the waitress. He had a feeling that he would want to be out of town when Laxus and the others found out that he was gone. He should have until tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning, whenever Ever and Bixlow got around to checking their mail or got worried enough about him to look for him.

(TIME SKIP TO THAT EVENING)

**Evergreen's POV:**

I walked into my apartment, slammed the door, and threw my purse down. I slumped against the wall and slid down it groaning, my face in my hands. I had spent the entire day in the company of Elfman and I swore that if I heard any form of the word 'man' again tonight, I was going to turn someone to stone and graffiti the life out of them.

But despite all the 'manly' talk, Elfman was actually kinda sweet . . . Wait. No. No he was not. He was one of the most annoying people on the planet, and thats all there was to it.

I stood up and turned on the lights. I removed my pinching shoes from my aching feet while leaning on the door frame for support. I threw them down without looking. But something was different. One of the shoes hadn't made a _thunk _as it hit the floor, it was more of a _crinkle_ . . . I looked down. There was an envelope trapped under a purple heel. I frowned as I recognized Freed's flowing script addressing it to me. What would he have to write that he couldn't say to me in person? I picked up the envelope and flopped into an armchair.

After reading a few lines, I bolted upright, eyes growing larger as I quickly finished the letter. My mouth fell open. It wasn't long, but it got the point across.

It wasn't very lady like to swear, but the situation definitely warranted it. "_Fuck_," I said numbly to the empty room. "Laxus is gonna _freak_."

(AROUND THE SAME TIME)

**Normal POV:**

Bixlow walked back to his house, chuckling as he remembered the day. He had spent it pointing out with Happy's help just how much Elfman and Ever 'loooooooooved' each other. They were going to get together eventually, if he had anything to do with it. It was actually pretty amazing that either of them found anyone who admired them at all, with Elfman's annoying habit of shouting 'MAN' at random moments, and, well, he would never _ever _say it to her face for fear for his life, but Ever could be a bit full of herself and cold. So he would be shipping them until Exceeds started popping up from the ground like daisies wearing carrot costumes and dancing the macarena.

"Stick! Stick!" His babies warned him as he was about to step inside his house.

"What was that BABIES?!" He chuckled but stopped as he saw Freed's sword leaning against the corner between his house and the door, brows pushing together in confusion. Freed _never _took his sword off unless he really needed to. Something was wrong. Bixlow carried the sword inside with him. His first step through the door something crumpled under his boot. He stooped and picked up a letter in Freed's handwriting.

After quickly skimming the letter, Bixlow charged right back out of his house. He had to stop Freed. There was _NO WAY _he was going to be the one to break the news to Laxus that his trusted Captain, loyal to a fault for so many years, had _left. _The only problem was, he had no idea where to start looking. Freed had left no clues as to where he was going or why he left, he said it was better for a 'clean break'. Bixlow had known Freed long enough to guess why he left, but for where he was going . . . he had no idea. He was going to Ever's. If Freed had left him a note, he had probably left Ever one too, and even if she didn't know where he was they could at least look together. And if Laxus didn't already know, Bixlow wasn't going to bring it to his attention. He really hoped that he could get Freed back before Laxus even knew he was gone. If he didn't . . . he shuddered. The Raijinshuu had been together so long they were family. Nothing would change that. Nothing.

Plus, he didn't really feel like being zapped to death.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

_So, I know that everyone hates original characters, but . . . I put one in *cringes* Please don't hurt me! _

_I REWORKED THIS BECAUSE IT TOOK OUT ALL OF MY THINGIES I USED TO MARK SWITCHING TO DIFFERENT STUFF (IT LOOKED REALLY CONFUSING SORRY 'BOUT THAT GUYS), AND I NOTICED THAT I COULD DO THIS A BIT BETTER. THANKS Child at Heart Forever FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEW AND JoltsBot AND Evan FOR YOUR SUPPORT. :) YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. ADDITIONALLY, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED AND/OR FAVORITED THIS STORY; GajeelIronSteel, aball147, alexbelles, bloodmooneclipse, love everything girl, AND luvsmarchingband2much._

* * *

Bixlow charged through the streets of Magnolia, deftly avoiding some of the more unsavory characters that liked to come out at night (but there was a pretty close call with a drunk citizen who thought he was King Arthur). Although it was not nearly as busy as it would be in full daylight, he still couldn't go fast enough for his liking, finally hopping up on his 'babies' and surfing over the street-lit buildings to Ever's apartment.

* * *

Ever spotted a dark shape moving quickly toward the window she had been pacing in front of. She opened it and barely had time to move out of the way before Bixlow and his 'babies' spead through it and tumbled onto the carpet. Normally, she would have reprimanded him for coming to her house in an unorthodox way and at such a late hour (ladies didn't have strange men climbing through their windows during odd hours of the night and Bixlow definitely qualified as 'strange' no matter how many years she had known him) but these were definitely not ordinary circumstances.

"I'm assuming from that _spectacular_ entrance that you also got a letter from Freed?" Ever asked. Freed had mentioned in her letter that he left his sword with Bixlow, so it was safe to assume he had also written a letter to explain why it was there.

"Yeah, you got any idea where he went?" Bixlow knew Ever wouldn't have stayed in her apartment dicking around if she knew where he was for a definite fact. He also knew she had probably been waiting for him to show up, so that they could cross ideas of where he would go, and coordinate their search. Ever may not look it or act it all the time, but she was actually pretty smart when she put her mind to it.

"I have a few ideas, but all of them seem kind of like long shots."

"Doesn't matter. The sooner we find him . . ." He trailed off, but the last part of his sentence still hung in the air, _the less likely Laxus will know about it._

"Yes. Hopefully Laxus never finds out. I'm thinking he didn't send Laxus a letter because the city is still standing, and Freed isn't that stupid. So that gives us at least until morning, through the day if we say he is doing errands, we may even have a week if we can get Mirajane on board to say he left for a solo mission early in the morning and didn't want to wake us. I'll talk to Mirajane and try to track down where he is currently living and stuff, you check where he generally likes to hang out. See if you can figure out where he's been recently. Lets get started. Oh, and do you mind putting that sword and these letters somewhere hard to find? We don't want Laxus to find them."

After a few days of searching, Ever and Bixlow met again in Ever's studio apartment.

"From what I understand, he joined Sabertooth officially around midday, and left for a job immediately afterward. I couldn't get the Sabertooth guild members to say more to me then that." Ever said exasperated. "I mean really, you would think they would give up more information to someone who has been his friend for _years_ when they've only known him a few weeks! Well, at least Mira won't be lying when she says he's on a solo job. And we _do_ have other ways of tracking him down . . ."

"Ever!" Bixlow laughed. "I think he would murder us if he _ever _realized we had a tracking mark put on him without his knowledge!"

"You were there! You _know_ how bad his sense of direction is when it comes to unfamiliar cities! It took us _hours_ to find him!"

Bixlow giggled, his dolls echoing the laugh. "Yeah, I know . . . but it was kinda funny how we found him upside down in that vat of jelly! I don't even know how he could have thought that our hotel was down there!"

Ever rolled her eyes. "Aaaany way, did you find out where he lives now?"

"Yeah, it's a couple blocks from Sabertooth. Hey, do you want to hunt him down or wait for him to show back up? I've always wanted to try that thing where you wait in the dark for a person to show up in a fluffy armchair, and when they do you flip on the light and start twirling your obsessively long and well-groomed moustache."

"Why would you want to wait in the dark? And let me make this clear, I WILL NEVER, EVER, _EVER_ HAVE FACIAL HAIR OF ANY SORT."

"Never say never, Ever. Hey! that rhymed!"

Ever sighed dramatically, but before she could say anything else, Laxus burst in.

* * *

Freed walked up the steep path to his fiancee's cabin, puffing as he smiled happily. It had been so long since he had been able to see her. He kept trying to visit in between jobs, but even when the Raijinshuu weren't off fighting monsters, it was tough work being their Captain. He always had to balance the books, wright apology notes (there was this one time the entire town had been leveled and he swore his hand was _still_ aching from the strain), and generally make sure things went smoothly. It really wouldn't have been all that difficult, but . . . well his team had a way of making things complicated. He winced a little as he remembered to add the 'ex' in front of 'team' before shaking it off and focusing on the bright side. He would get to see Laini more often!

He could barely remember the engagement; it had happened so long ago.

**Flashback:**

He sat perfectly straight on the chair. His feet didn't reach the floor, but he knew it wasn't an excuse not to sit up properly. It was a hard chair (the finest mahogany money could buy, but it did not, unfortunately, have a seat cushion), and he was tempted to squirm, but he knew the consequences of what would happen if he did. His body shuddered to think about it.

"Dear?" his mother asked. "Are you cold? We can have a servant fetch you a sweater."

"No, mother."

"And is your young lady cold? We must always be polite mustn't we? She is to be apart of the family, you know."

"Yes, mother." He turned to the equally proper-and-uncomfortable girl beside him. "Are you well, miss?"

"Yes," her voice and tongue carefully creating each syllable. "I am perfectly well."

"Aaron, might the children go outside and get to know each other while we finish up the paperwork? If you don't mind?" His mother inquired cooly of her husband and the young lady's parents. His mother knew that his father had made the chair he had to sit on extra uncomfortable for 'training' in discipline. She also knew that her little one wouldn't be able to keep still much longer. And that would be very bad for him.

"I'm sure we don't mind, do we honey?" The little girl's father smiled at her mother in a condescending way.

"We do not." She miffed, and stuck her nose in the air. The three year old boy rather thought she looked like one of the penguins he had been reading about in the library earlier that day.

"Well then, darling, why don't you show your little bride-to-be the rose garden? It's beautiful this time of year." His mother said softly.

"Yes, mother." He slid awkwardly off the chair before helping the girl down from hers. From his father's flashing eyes, he knew he would pay for that single moment of gracelessness later. One simply did not show weakness in front of others. Even if that weakness was only getting down from too-tall uncomfortable chairs.

He took her to the rose garden, as he had been told. It really was beautiful this time of summer, the bright red blooms fully open and stretching toward the bluest sky the world could offer. The garden was a circular maze, with the tall rose bushes forming the thorny walls.

"Would you care for a walk in the maze, Miss?"

"If you wouldn't mind terribly."

"Not at all."

It was like any other conversation he had ever had. Short, polite, to the point. Even when his father was punishing him, it was still controlled. His father never shouted. He offered her his elbow and they walked slowly through the lightly-scented summer air. It was near midday, and the sun was high in the sky. The little girl's frilly pale pink dress swished softly as she moved. She looked like a doll, all dressed up in that frilly pink dress with an equally frilly and pink bonnet. Then again, he didn't look any less dolled up (though his outfit was, thankfully, not pink or frilly in any way). They didn't speak, walking stiffly. When the reached the center, the girl suddenly stopped short.

"Oh." She let slip a small gasp, her delicate lips falling open.

He could understand why. The perfectly round lawn stretched before them, bright green grass cut to perfection. At it's center stood a fountain, on a small pedestal in a koi pond. It was a statue of the greek god Zeus, ruler of the sky, king of the gods. His eyes glared towards the heavens, as though accusing the sun of shining too brightly. He wore a toga, the swishing fabric frozen in stone. One hand held a bolt of lightning, poised to smite whatever it was he felt like smiting, the other loose at his side. Water bubbled up from under his feet, flowing into the pond below him. The statue oozed power, the sculptor had been a master.

He liked that statute. Nothing bad had ever happened to him in this rose garden, and he couldn't help but feel that nothing ever would. This immortal thunder god would protect him from all that would try to hurt him here. If only his protection extended to the house.

Benches lined the outside of the circle of grass, and he asked the girl who still stood gaping, if she would like to sit.

She looked around carefully before responding, hazel eyes darting. "Is there anyone watching us here?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"No . . . ?"

"Good!" She exclaimed, much louder. "Let's play!" Giggling, she tossed her bonnet to the ground at ran across the lawn, blonde hair whipping freely. "Catch me if you can!"

He grinned the biggest smile he had ever smiled in his short life and ran after her. When they thought they may be summoned again, they took a few moments making themselves presentable once more, before walking just as stiffly back through the maze.

The rest of the day went as quiet and politely as the first part, but when he wished good-bye to his fiancee, she shot him a small smile full of light (and more than a little mischievous) when no one was looking but him. He quickly smiled back. He really hoped she would be able to visit often.

**End Flashback**

Laini had been his first and best friend. She had helped to make his childhood a bearable one. They had never been anything more than friends, though. He had been twelve when he lost his family and home, but afterwards, he had still tried to visit her occasionally. It was on one such visit that he had told her he was gay, and on the same visit that he realized what a great friend he had, as she had accepted him completely. _It's not like we're still getting married anyways, _she had told him. _And don't worry about it. I never saw you as more than a friend. So, you got any crushes? _Her parents couldn't break the engagement as it had been sealed with his father's magic (which was quite similar to his own, though not completely the same) but they had made it very clear that their only daughter was not going into a marriage that could not give her anything.

She had lived with her parents until they started trying to match-make her with other boys, whom she said were "douchebags of an uptight world in which the slightest squeak of a fart would bring your downfall". She renounced her parents and her inheritance when they were sixteen, and was currently living in a cottage in the wooded mountains near Magnolia (the reason that he was gasping for breath as he trekked up the steep trail). _Really_, he thought. _Did she HAVE to live like a recluse like Porlyusica? And even Porlyusica isn't as hard to get to as this._

After a few more minutes, he finally saw her cabin. It was in a clearing, a bright glen that reminded him ever so slightly of the lawn in the center of the rose maze (no benches or fountains or statues of Zeus, though). He ran the last few steps to the cottage, eager to collapse into a chair with a cool glass of water.

The door flew open before he reached it.

"AAAHHH!" Laini squealed as she tackled him in a bear hug.

He laughed as she sent them in a sprawling mess to the ground. He thought he heard a gasp from behind him but when he glanced over, but nothing was there. He figured it could have just as easily been the sound of his ribs cracking from Laini's crushing hug.

"Can't. Breathe." He managed to gasp out.

"Sorry!" She said while untangling herself from him. She helped him off the ground, chattering brightly to him as they walked, arm-in-arm, back towards the little house in the woods.

* * *

**A Few Hours Before Then**

"Laxus!" Ever and Bixlow cried out as the enormous blonde burst in through the door.

"Did you two kill Freed or somethin'?!" He yelled at his cowering body guards. "'Cuz Mira said he was out on a solo job, but Freed would never take on a solo job that took longer than a few days, and when I asked her about the job Freed took 'cuz I thought he might be in trouble, SHE said YOU two said to tell me that he was on a job. SO WHAT IS IT THAT HAS HAPPENED THAT YOU NEED TO LIE TO ME ABOUT WHERE HE IS?!" He waited a few moments for a response. When no one moved to say anything, he ground out "Well?!"

"Er . . . Laxus," Ever started awkwardly.

"Yes?"

"Freed left." She winced and turned her face away in preparation for the spit that would probably be flying through the room in a second as Laxus (understandably) freaked out.

"What?" His face was screwed up in confusion. "So he did leave on a job?"

"Ummm, no." Bixlow interjected. "Freed _left_."

"Wait. Feed _left_. Like Freed _left _left? Like left the Raijinshuu?" He said disbelievingly. He had never really been without his captain by his side for an extended period of time besides when he had to leave Fairy Tail since they had first met. But he had still been Captain of the Raijinshuu even if Laxus wasn't there. And sure, Freed was kinda annoying sometimes, but . . .

"Well . . . yeah."

"WHAT?!" Laxus finally exploded they way they had expected him to since he first bust through the door. He was sparking all over and Ever's hair started to float, crackling with static electricity. The very air started shocking them, and the room smelled like ozone. Laxus punched the wall, and his fist went into the plaster, sending zipping bits of electricity outward. All the light lacrama exploded, raining crystal shards down on them. _Why did this have to happen in MY apartment?!_ Ever thought desperately.

"Laxus, calm down!" Ever yelled at the dragon slayer.

"WHY SHOULD I CALM DOWN?!"

_Because you're wrecking my house, that's why!_ She thought but instead said, "Well, you're not going to be able to find him until you're calm! And I am SO not writing the apology letters if you level the city!"

Laxus took a deep breath and quieted his magic. "You're right. We just need to find him. What do you know?"

Ever and Bixlow breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Laxus was still sparking occasionally, but the worst seemed to be over. They told him what they knew.

"Alright. So our two options of how to find Freed are to beat it out of those Sabertooth fuckers or use the tracking mark. Since I don't feel like starting an all-out guild war, I think we should use the tracking mark. Freed can be mad at us as long as he's _with_ us."

"Ok. All we have to do to find him is kick Laxus in the balls," said Bixlow. "Kick Laxus, kick Laxus!" his babies copied.

"What?"

Ever rolled her eyes. "No, we just have to say a key phrase. I wrote it down here." She handed Laxus a slip of paper. "Should take us right to him."

"Eeeeeverrrrr!" Bixlow whined. "Why do you always have to spoil my fun? We could have done it and he wouldn't have even hit us back!" ("Spoiler! Spoiler!")

"No, I would have kicked you back," Laxus said as he looked at the paper. "Makarov is not looking at those cute girls in bikinis like a creep."

There was a flash of light as they appeared just in front of a cottage in a forest.

"We wanted to make sure it was something we didn't accidentally say," Ever explained quietly. "So, I guess we knock on the door?"

Just then, they saw Freed bolting towards the cabin. They all started forward, wondering what kind of horrible beast could be chasing him.

The cabin door slammed open, and a young woman about Freed's age was suddenly attacking him, screaming a war cry of "AAAAHHHHH!" They fell, tumbling to the ground, wrestling.

At this point, Laxus, Bixlow and Ever were running top speed to help when Ever realized that Freed was . . . laughing? She gasped and stopped short, arms flung out to stop Laxus and Bixlow from coming any closer to the couple sprawled on the ground. "Back up, back up!" Ever hissed at the other two as they ran back to the treeline. They hid themselves just before Freed's head turned their direction.

"What was that for?" Bixlow asked quietly ("That for, that for!"), but his question was answered as the woman helped Freed up and they made their way happily to the little house.

"I think there is a bit more going on than he told us . . ." Ever's eyes narrowed.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

_Author Note: Sorry this took so long! I had to abandon my original plan for where the story was going and had writer's block after that. I might not post the next chapter for a while because Finals is coming up, and I am a shitload of all kinds of __unprepared. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story and a big THANK YOU to everyone who comments, favorites, and follows! :) (I really don't have any idea where this is going so if you all have suggestions, I am more than happy to hear them!)_

"Who the FUCK is that?!" Laxus hissed to no one in particular, half standing up from the bush they were sitting behind as Bixlow said at the same time (entirely too loudly), "WHOA! I didn't know Freed had a girlfriend!" "Girlfriend! Girlfriend!", his babies mimiced.

"_SHUT UP! _DO YOU WANT THE ENTIRE FOREST TO KNOW WE ARE HERE?!" Ever whisper-yelled at the others, grabbing Laxus' arm and forcing him back behind the bush, despite the fact that she also wanted to stand up and scream in outrage. How could Freed not tell her something like this? Whatever _this _was . . . they were practically family! They never hid stuff this big from one another! . . . Well, besides Freed's HUMONGOUS crush on Laxus . . . but Freed never hid anything from _her_!

"She is _not _his girlfriend!" Laxus protested, a little quieter now. "Freed doesn't date! Besides, she's not his type!"

A familiar voice came from behind them. "How would you know what my type is, Laxus?" The implied _you never saw how I looked at you anyway_ passed over no one, except the person it was directed at.

The three whirled around, their faces comically surprised. Squeaks of "But . . . !" "How did you?!" and "Hey! Freed, buddy . . . you got any cake?" ("Cake! Cake!") were heard.

"Freed put up wards around my property so I would know if anyone uninvited was here, and we teleported here in case you guys were harmful. You want to introduce me to your friends? I assume these are the ones I have heard so much about!" Laini added cheerfully. She wasn't quite so cheerful under the surface, though. One of these people had to be Laxus, and from how Freed had described him over the years, she was pretty sure which one that was. Laxus was the reason Freed was hurting now, and had left his friends, and no matter how grateful she was for the extra time they would be able to spend together, she couldn't just let _anyone_ get away with hurting him. If she thought it would faze the big blonde even a little bit, she would have already chopped him to bits and fed him to her cat, but she had a feeling that physical pain wasn't much of a hindrance to him. She could, however, see how to REALLY drag him through the mud, and it just might make him finally acknowledge his feelings for Freed . . . It really was because of his constant denial that they were both suffering so much.

Her magic, after all, _was _seeing into the hearts of people (from what she understood, Bixlow's magic was similar, but she couldn't do as much as he could with it, just see into people). She could always tell when someone was lying, who they loved, what secrets they held closest to their hearts. This was part of the reason that they were matched together, Freed would be perfectly able to protect the household and make binding agreements for business purposes, while she would be able to tell if someone was trying to dupe them, or hurt them in any way. The only problem was, she couldn't turn it off, which was why she now lived up here. It got pretty tiring, very quickly. There is some stuff you just don't want to know about the common passing stranger. But now she could use it to her advantage. She smirked inwardly, completing her plan within a few seconds.

" . . . and this is-" Freed was saying, about to introduce her to the others, before she interrupted him.

"I'm Elaina, but you can call me Laini. I'm Freed's fiancee."

It had it's desired reaction for the most part.

Bixlow giggled, his tongue lolling out.

Freed glanced at her strangely before giving her a look that said _I have no idea what you think you are doing, but you wouldn't do it without a reason, and I trust you . . . but don't mess it up._

Laxus' face looked shocked, then absolute devastation flashed for a moment, before he locked the defeated look behind a blank one. It didn't matter, as she could see plainly, just how betrayed and upset he really felt, and the anger at himself that he felt anything at all to this news besides happiness for a treasured friend who finally found love (he thought he understood now why Freed never seemed interested in anyone, as he had this gorgeous _woman _waiting for him. Freed was just his best friend. He was only upset that he hadn't told him. Yes, that was it. He was upset that this beautiful, adorable- uh, _friend_ hadn't told him he was engaged).

But there was one thing Laini had not taken into consideration. She chalked it up to living so long without having to use her skills as a part of any plan. But excuses didn't lessen the pain in her eardrums.

"_WHAT!_" Ever's shocked screech reverberated throughout the wood. It startled birds and small animals into running in terror from the mage. The rest of the group couldn't help but feel envious of the animals that were allowed to flee from the fairy's ear-splitting wrath.

"WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE EXISTED UNTIL ABOUT THREE SECONDS AGO AND NOT ONLY ARE YOU TOGETHER BUT YOU ARE _ENGAGED_?!"

Freed backed up as Ever stomped towards him, only stopping when his back hit a tree.

"Erm. Ever-" He started before looking pleadingly at Laini.

"WHAT. THE. HELL. FREED?" Ever was seriously confused. She knew for a fact that Freed had been pining for Laxus for _years_, yet here he was, engaged in under a week. You don't just get over the kind of love she knew he had for Laxus in three days. She knew because there was no way she could ever get engaged so quickly after a break-up, she would spend her days sobbing on the floor of her apartment with chocolate if she and Elfman ever- Erm. They weren't even really together although she wished- Not the point. She had to stay focused.

"Ever, um, could we, uh, talk for a moment. Alone?" Laini said weakly.

Ever turned sharply to face the other girl, her eyes glowing behind her glasses. Freed slumped heavily against the tree. "I think that would be a good idea- what was your name again? Laini?"

"Yeah."

The girls walked back to the cottage together, leaving the boys alone between the trees.

Bixlow laughed. "I have to pee." ("Pee! Pee!"). "I'll see you two later!" ("Later! Later!"). Bixlow ran off towards the house. He knew it didn't matter if he heard the girls' 'talk' because it would just be Laini explaining her brilliant plan. He knew straight off what was happening, there was no way Freed would ever give up Laxus, _especially_ for a girl, and he had looked into her soul. His own, admittedly less brilliant plan was now in full force. Freed never could resist Laxus, and Bixlow knew Laxus would ask Freed to come home.

"So, uh, Laxus. How are you?"

"I'm ok. Erm. Congrats."

"Yeah, about that-"

"FREED! LAXUS!" Laini shouted. The two mages jumped. "You boys can come in now! And hurry up! I made cookies earlier and you want to get here while they are warm!"


	4. A Note

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"I know that we aren't supposed to use the chapters as places to add notes, but I'm worried that people subscribed wouldn't get the message, so I'm disguising it as a chapter. Sorry if you were expecting an actual chapter :/ (although all of you probably were)/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The fact is, I have lost interest in continuing this fan fiction. Henceforth, it is DISCONTINUED./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"This, however, may not be the end of the story./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"If you are interested in taking the story over and continuing it yourself, please comment. I will be happy to turn it over, just because I don't want to disappoint anyone./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"So sorry!/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Also, you may or may not have heard, but I am looking for a Beta. If you are interested, please comment!/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"~Tendencies/p 


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